Hi, everyone. I’m off to Supanova on the Gold Coast (Aus equivalent of Comicon) this weekend to sell and sign some copies of my fantasy novel The Calvanni. It should be a fun couple of days. Sitting at the table is usually quite entertaining with all the cosplay. Last year there was an excellent Sauron costume that had in-built stilts – truly awesome 7 foot plus figure striding around with his fluted mace – and a Predator and an Alien, who of course duked it out for the crowd. I also managed to get a photo of a large bear reading The Calvanni, which was fun.

Poking about in New York history recently I ran across Edgar Allan Poe again.

I had never read any Poe (until now that is), even though I had at various times got hold of collections with the best of intentions. Once I visited a former hotel where he reputedly lived while in New York. Later I discovered the actual location where he wrote his famous poem, The Raven, uptown in 83rd Street where (at that time) a rural cottage was located.

As I was reading through the Raven, with its famous namesake crying out ‘Nevermore!’ to tune of the writer’s loss, I reflected on how much notoriety and fame Poe had during his lifetime. I could not imagine a poem creating the same sensation now. It just goes to show you how much the popular written form can change over time.

It got me thinking how many people read poetry these days, and how many SFF writers actually pursue the art form.

Any speculative fiction poets out there? Who regularly reads and enjoys poetry?